Spanish A1.16 Listening Practice: The O Opens
Listen to a A1 Spanish dialogue about the o opens, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
A1.16
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
19 segments
A short Spanish listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 2: add o to ue in stressed roots to what you already control, then say one short answer that reuses earlier Spanish instead of starting from a memorized phrase.
Read while you listen.
1. Carmen · Teacher
Welcome! I'm Carmen. Today we are looking at how vowels change inside Spanish verbs when stressed. Let's listen to Álvaro and Lucía.
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2. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
¿Cuándo empieza la clase?
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3. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Empieza ahora.
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4. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
¿Puedo entrar?
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5. Lucía · Native Speaker 2
Sí, la profesora vuelve.
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6. Álvaro · Native Speaker 1
Puedo empezar ahora.
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7. Carmen · Teacher
Let's break down this conversation sentence by sentence.
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8. Carmen · Teacher
First, Álvaro asks: ¿Cuándo empieza la clase? This means: When does the class start? Notice how the verb empezar changes to empieza.
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9. Diego · Student
So the e sound in empezar changes to ie in empieza?
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10. Carmen · Teacher
Exactly, Diego! The root vowel changes under stress.
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11. Carmen · Teacher
Next, Lucía says: Empieza ahora. It starts now. Then Álvaro asks: ¿Puedo entrar? Can I enter?
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12. Diego · Student
Is puedo coming from the verb poder?
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13. Carmen · Teacher
Yes, Diego. The root vowel o in poder opens up to ue, giving us puedo.
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14. Carmen · Teacher
Then Lucía responds: Sí, la profesora vuelve. Yes, the teacher comes back.
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15. Diego · Student
Does vuelve follow that same o to ue pattern?
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16. Carmen · Teacher
That's right! Volver becomes vuelve in the third person.
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17. Carmen · Teacher
Finally, Álvaro says our challenge sentence: Puedo empezar ahora. I can start now.
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18. Diego · Student
Why is empezar in its basic form after puedo?
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19. Carmen · Teacher
When two verbs go together, only the first one like puedo changes form, while the second stays in the infinitive. Well done today!
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